Olympic swimmer announces retirement

Five-time Olympic medallist Melanie Wright has announced her retirement from swimming.

Wright (nee Schlanger) confirmed the news on social media after failing to make the 100m freestyle final at the Rio Olympic trials in Adelaide on Monday night.

"And with that I wave goodbye to a competitive swimming career that spanned more than 15 years," the 29-year-old dual Olympian wrote on her Facebook page.

You might also like

The two-time Olympic gold medallist had battled a rib complaint ahead of the Rio trials, costing her seven weeks of training.

A similar rib injury forced her to miss the 2013 world titles and contemplate retirement.

Wright's highlight was anchoring the 4x100m freestyle relay team at the London 2012 Olympics, keeping at bay surging defending champions Netherlands and securing Australia's only gold medal in the pool.

Wright - married to fellow Olympian Chris Wright - said she would soon begin studying medicine on the Gold Coast.